Feels like a beautiful tree with way too many branches. The Worst Ones has a unique storyline with huge potential, but first-time full-length directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret seem unbalanced as to how to present their materials, resulting in a slow burn that ends well but meanders in the process.

A movie set with its cast consisting of exclusively troublemaking children is the selling point of this largely meta story. It's an insight into the different experiences of "the worst ones", each with a storyline to tell. Some subplots are more interesting than others, and overkill oftentimes happens, but the ensemble is consistently strong enough to deliver. I do applaud the ending which is genuine and emotional, but the journey leading to it is not very rosy.